1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus connection interface, an apparatus control system and a method of controlling such an apparatus control system. The present invention can suitably be used for recording/reproduction systems adapted to record the video/audio data obtained by shooting a subject typically with a video camera and reproducing the recorded video/audio data by means of a plurality of videotape recorders.
2. Description of the Related Art
In known recording/reproduction systems, a plurality of videotape recorders is connected to a control apparatus so that the video/audio data output from a video camera are recorded in one of the videotape recorders under the control of the control apparatus and, when the recording operation of the videotape recorder comes to an end, the subsequent video/audio data output from the video camera are recorded in another one of the videotape recorder without interruption. Similarly, in the known recording/reproduction system, the video/audio data recorded in one of the videotape recorders are reproduced under the control of the control apparatus and, when the reproduction operation of the videotape recorder comes to an end, the subsequent video/audio data are reproduced from some other appropriate videotape recorder without interruption (see, inter alia, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-218145 (pages 3, 4, 5, 6, FIGS. 3, 5).